Pushing My Limits
by kiwi333
Summary: Maya has had her life flipped upside down at the hands of an unknown person. The Lucas Friar crashes into her life and causes even more change to happen. Please Read and Review
1. Chapter 1

For as long as Maya Hart could remember she had the ability to communicate whatever she was feeling through her art. Her mother has told her over and over again that she had received her gift from her father, who left them to follow his dream of being an artist. It wasn't until after her accident that Maya started to struggle with who she was and if art is what she truly wanted to do with her life.

The accident changed everything for Maya; she now has to hide her scars behind long sleeve shirts and gloves. It happened one night when her mother was working late at the diner; someone had broken into their apartment and took something of Maya's that she could never get back.

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"Maya I'm leaving for an audition now! Make sure that you are at school on time today." Katy Hart called from the hallway outside of her daughters room. Katy leaving Maya was nothing new, but Maya thought that after the accident she would be a little more protective over her daughter.

"I will mom, I just need to put some final touches on this painting" Maya called back to her mother. In reality Maya was standing in front of her mirror staring at the scars that were littered across her body.

"Alright, I'll see you later then." And with that Katy was gone leaving her daughter alone once again. Once Maya finished covering up her body with long sleeves she started to make her way to Riley's house. The two girls had been close since the time they were little. Riley was the only person who really knew what happened the night that Maya's apartment was broken into.

"Peaches, you're here!" Riley yelled as Maya made her way into her room through the window.

"Yup, now hurry up and get ready. I need to hand in this piece to Ms. Clark." Maya held up a painting that was concealed in a bag. Ms. Clark was the art teacher that had first influenced Maya to take her art seriously way back in freshmen year.

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The two girls entered the high school with their finger laced together and ready to face the day. As they were making their way to the art room the two girls were cut off by the one and only Lucas Friar.

"Maya…" Riley squealed into Maya's ear. Ever since Lucas walked into their freshmen history class Riley has been dead set that Lucas was the one for her. Mind you the two couldn't be more different. Riley was a good person who saw the best in everyone. While Lucas tended to stick with his popular friends and had a temper that was nothing to joke about.

"Riley you need to relax. Plus it's not like Lucas woul-" Before Maya could finish what she was saying she walked straight into a rock solid chest. Quickly she looked up and saw that the body she had collided with belonged to Lucas.

"You might want to watch where you are going. A short stack like you might get hurt around all these larger folk." Lucas looked down at the blonde girl who had eyes that caused him to rethink yelling at the person who ran into him.

"Why don't you let go of and then we can stay the hell out of each other's way like we have been doing for the past 3 years." Maya said trying to get out of the hold that Lucas had on her. Ever since the accident Maya has had a hard time with people touching her.

"Now why would we want to do that, it seems to me like you and I make the perfect match." Lucas said looking down at the girl once again. He couldn't believe that a girl who looked like this and had a hellfire personality could have been unknown to him for so long.

"That's not going to happen Huckleberry." With that Maya was final able to remove herself from Lucas, grab onto Riley and head towards the art room.

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"Zay who on earth was that?" Lucas asked his best friend who happened to see the whole thing that had just unfolded.

"I have no idea man but it seemed like she wanted nothing to do with you." Zay replied smirking while he recalled the way the blonde wanted nothing to do with his best friend who usually had girls falling over themselves just for the chance to speak to him.

"Well I'll tell you one thing, that short stack won't be able to stay away from me when I get done with her." Lucas said. Something about the blonde had just captivated him and by some unknown factor caused him to want to know everything about her.

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"Maya are we going to talk about what just happened?" Riley questioned her friend while they were in art class painting away. Ever since the run in with Lucas Maya had been on edge and nervous.

"No Riles we are not, why don't you go back to painting a purple cat. I think that one you're working on might just be the best one you've done." Maya said directing Riley's attention back to her painting and away from her. She didn't want her good spirted best friend to know what she was feeling. When Lucas grabbed onto her to keep her from falling to the ground Maya flashed back to a pair of hands that grabbed onto her and caused worlds on pain.

"You know you can talk to me right? About anything?" Riley said trying to get her friend to finally let her all the way in and to help her with how she was feeling.

"Really Riley I am fine." Maya said as she started to put the final touches on the painting which like all her recent pieces held a sense of pain and darkness.

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All day long Lucas could not get those striking eyes out of his head. Every time he closed his eyes he could see the flash of panic that crossed this mystey girls face when he caught her. Soemthign about her had caused him to want to hold onto her and protect her from all the bad things in the world. All of these feeling were very new to Lucas. Usually he used a girl for a night just to make him feel good then they were dead to him. Yes, he knew that it wasn't the best thing to do but hey he would only be 16 once.

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It was nearing midnight when Maya finally decided that she might as well try to get some sleep. Usually she was able to get a few hours before the nightmares struck. Ever since the accident Maya hadn't been able to sleep soundly through the night.

She began her routine by checking that all the locks in the apartment work and that her window was locked as well. Then she checked that the bat she kept in her room was within her reach. Finally she closed her eyes and willed her mind to sleep without flashing her back to the night that changed her forever.

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Lucas had stayed up into the late hours of the night going through his yearbook trying to find a girl who eyes matched the ones that seemed to be burned into his mind. It wasn't until he was flipping through a page that was dedicated to a art competition that he came face to face with the girl.

She was in the middle of painting a picture while a brunette stood next to her smiling at whatever was on the canvas. Under the picture names were listed, Maya Hart and Riley Matthews.

Lucas smiled knowing that he was one step closer to finally figuring out who this girl was and making her his even if it would just be for one night.

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Maya woke up in a panic. She was covered in sweat and tangled in the blankets. Quickly she glanced at the clock and saw that it was just past 2 in the morning. Maya sighed then made her way out of bed knowing that it was useless trying to get back to sleep.

She turned on her light and took out her sketch book. She flipped open to the countless pieces that were in there. Lately she had been trying to put a face to the person that haunted her every moment. It was hard to recall exactly who robbed Maya of her life but she was determined to figure out who they were and put an end to them once and for all.


	2. Chapter 2

Maya was on her fourth cup of coffee by the time that Riley had knocked on her door to come get her for school. Quickly Maya tucked away the sketch book that could end up being the key to finding out who hurt her. The Maya ran to the door when the knocking on the door became more and more intense. When she opened the door Riley was not the person standing at her door.

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*Hours earlier*

Lucas and Zay were sitting on the roof of Lucas' building trying to figure out who this mystery girl was. Lucas had not been able to sleep and called his best friend to help him figure this all out as soon as the sun was up.

"Hey man I'm thinking that we should just track each girl down and find out which name goes to which girl." Zay said. They had been going back and forth over which name belonged to the blonde in the picture that Lucas found in the yearbook.

"What am I supposed to say to them? Ask what their name is and if they want to get busy in the back seat of my car?" Luas asked thinking that the blonde who he first met yesterday would not be up to those activities, especially with him.

"Well yeah isn't that what you usually do to girls who you want to "take for a ride"?" Zay asked smirking thinking about the countless girls that Lucas has slept with and then forgot all about within a few days.

Lucas simply smacked his best friend hard in the shoulder. Yes it was true that he was something of a player when it came to his history with girls but not with this blonde beauty. There was something about her eyes that screamed she was lost and Lucas thought that for once he might be able to help her find whatever she was looking for.  
"OW!" Zay exclaimed rubbing his shoulder. Now he knew that this girl had to be different from all the others. Lucas never got upset when they talked about the long line of girls that he slept with and then left.

"Zay this girl is different. I don't know how to explain it but she just is okay?" Lucas yelled trying to get his temper under control. His temper was the one flaw in Lucas' seemingly perfect image. Ever since he was little he had issues trying to keep his anger under control.

"Alright Lucas why don't we just try to calm down and then we can think of how we are going to do this." Zay said to his friend knowing that the best thing to do when Lucas was upset was to give him space and if he did start to lash out you better get the hell out of his way.

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"The beauty of the internet my friend is to discover which name belongs to which girl." Zay exclaimed as they made their way into Lucas' room and towards his laptop. Quickly they typed in Riley Matthews into the search engine and waited to see what came up.

"Well I think that it is safe to say that Riley and Maya are best friends. Every picture on Riley's social media is of the blonde and the brunette." Lucas said trying to figure out how these two girl could do everything together but he still had no idea who name belonged to the blonde.

Seeing her picture again still caused Lucas to feel his heart stale. Something about this girl was causing him to change who he was and what he usually did when he was interested in a girl.

"Okay why don't we look up Ms. Hart and see if she has a picture by herself." Zay said going back to see if Maya was indeed the girl that has been causing his best friend to become someone he had never seen before.

With one click Lucas came face to face with a girl that had taken over his thoughts since they had ran into each other. So he had discovered that her name was indeed Maya and from the looks of her website she was an artist. He couldn't believe that at 16 she had a website dedicated to her art and that it was actually good.

"Wow Lucas it seems like you have fallen for a girl who has fallen off the social media planet." Zay said to him noticing that Maya had not posted any new artwork for at least 6 months.

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*Back to Maya's apartment*

"What the hell are you doing here?" Maya asked when she opened her door and Lucas Friar was standing there. She cursed herself for noticing that he looked just as good as he did when they ran into each other.

"Well Maya it was quite a struggle finding you actually. But I am here to ask you something. I'm having trouble in art history and Ms. Clark told me that you might be able to help." This wasn't a lie exactly. Lucas was doing poorly in art history and Ms. Clark did in fact tell him to get someone to help him….she just didn't mention Maya.

"So you felt the need to come to where I live at 7 in the morning to ask me if I would help you with a class?" Maya thought that Lucas was full of it but she did know that if Ms. Clark sent him then he must really need the help.

"What can I say I like to make a good first impression." Lucas said putting on his signature smirk and waited for Maya to invite him in.

"Well actually the first impression I got of you is when you ran into me then proceeded to call me names. So it is a little late to try to get me under your spell." Maya said trying to close the door but Lucas was quick and stopped her before it was closed all the way.

"Alright I'm sorry about that but I need help with art. Without it I can't play football. So what do you say, will you help me or not?" Lucas knew that he did actually need Maya to help him but another part of him knew that he just wanted to be close to her.

"Ok I'll help you but there are rules. We only work together after school in the art room, you have to promise me you will stop calling me short because I am not, and you have to swear that you won't tell anyone that we are working together. Maya explained to him knowing that if Riley were to find out that Lucas and Maya were going to be working together she would be crushed.

"Fine I think I can manage all of those, so what do you say after school today?" Lucas asked, a part of him thought that it was strange that Maya had so many rules but then again he never met a girl that was quite like Maya.

"Sure now you need to get out of here before people start to notice a huckleberry on the wrong side of town." Maya told him quickly pushing him out of the doorway. It was true that Lucas did not belong on her side of town. He was someone who was well off and seeing him in her rundown apartment didn't seem right.

"I thought we were stopping with the nicknames.?" Lucas questioned but he was cut off by Maya slamming her door closed. For a second her stood there and smirked. It was only a matter of time before he had Maya Hart just where he wanted her.

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"Maya are you home?" Riley yelled into the apartment after she lt herself in using the key that Maya gave her a while back.

"Yeah Riles, I just need to finish getting ready then we can head to school ok." Maya yelled back to her friend. Truth be told she had been ready for hours, she just didn't want her friend to know that she wasn't sleeping.

"Alright, do you want to come over for dinner tonight? My mom is making your favourite." Riley asked looking through the content of Maya's fridge. It was almost empty which was nothing new.

"Ummm I can't tonight, Katy and I are going to do a movie night or something." Maya called back. She did tend to call her mother by her first name because it seemed like they were more roommates then mother and daughter. Of course the movie marathon wasn't actually happening but Maya needed an excuse as to why she wasn't coming over to Riley and she sure as hell couldn't tell her that she would be spending the evening with Lucas.


	3. Chapter 3

_Meet me in the art room after school-maya_

Lucas looked down at his phone and smiled. He knew that spending time with Maya would give him the chance to get close to her and hopefully get her to let him have a bit of fun.

 _Sure thing, but how exactly did you get my number?-Lucas_

He waited to see if she would respond to his text. He knew that it was pretty easy to get his number from one of his previous relationships.

 _Simple I asked the latest girl who had her heart broken by you. She gave it to me pretty easily after a bit of convincing._

With that Lucas smirked thinking about Maya trying to get information out of the last girl Lucas had been with. Oddly enough he had been looking forward to his meeting with Maya ever since she had agreed to this arrangement earlier today.

In actual reality she had gotten in out of Riley's phone. Riley had stalked Lucas enough that he knew everything about him, including his cell phone and home phone number. Maya just wanted to get this over with as fast as possible. She knew that Lucas was bad news and lately Maya tried to stay as far away from that as she could.

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For Maya the day seemed to drag on and on until finally she was able to go to her final class of the day; art. This was the one class where Maya was able to express all of the thoughts and feelings that were inside of her. Yes since the accident most of her thoughts and feelings were dark but that was okay when it came to art.

Yet today was different. For some reason Maya couldn't connect to what she was trying to get across. There was a lack of connection between her, her brush, and the canvas. Perhaps it was the lack of sleep starting to set in but Maya realized that she usually ran off of less sleep then the two hours that she had gotten.

Out of nowhere the final bell rang and Maya looked down to see that she didn't make a single stroke on this canvas. Quickly she tried to push this thought out of her mind because she did promise Lucas that she would help him with art history now.

Maya stayed in her seat just waiting for Lucas to get here. Slowly the time started to pass by and Maya got lost in her pencil moving over a piece of paper. This is what happened when whatever Maya needed to get out of her system took over. She was compelled to draw or paint or whatever until whatever she was thinking or feeling was finally out of her.

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Lucas quickly sprinted to the art room. He was late and he knew that Maya was going to be pissed at him for it. It wasn't his fault though, someone had been giving Zay a hard time so Lucas had to teach this guy not to get involved with his friends. A couple of punches later and things were settled.

When he got to the door of the art room Lucas stood there for a second and gazed at the girl sitting there. Maya was completely lost in her own world with her art. Lucas glanced down to what she was working on and found that it was looking like something along the lines of broken glass. Odd, he never took Maya for someone who was into the darker side of life.

"Hey Maya I'm sorry I'm late I forgot my books in my locker." Lucas said causing Maya to jump a mile. He thought that he had been pretty loud coming up to her but perhaps Maya was consumed with what she was working on.

"Oh it's not an issue, but if you are late again I will have to cancel these art history lessons. So let's get down to business." Maya said putting her drawing into her bag and pulling out her books about the history of art.

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Riley was waiting for her father to finish packing up his notes and papers for the day. It was nice to have a parent for a teacher but it did cause her to feel like she had to work a little harder than the others. While her father took his sweet time packing up his items Riley started wandering the halls. As she was walking Riley started to worry about Maya. Ever since Maya had the "accident" Riley knew that her friend was no longer the same. Maya no longer ventured around the city looking for things to inspire her, she spent more and more time alone thinking that whoever got close to her would hurt her.

Riley continued to walk around thinking about ways to help Maya when she heard laughter coming from the art room. Carefully she walked in the direction of the noise and came face to face with her best friend and her one true love sitting together and having what appeared to be a good time. Riley felt a swirl of emotions at the time. She was so glad that Maya was able to have a smile on her face even if it was not as big as it once was. But she was also filled with a feeling of hurt and jealously over the fact that her best friend was having a good time with the boy she was in love with.

Lucas was the one person Riley thought would be with her for the rest of her life. Her parents had an epic love story that Riley wanted to happen to her. She knew that Lucas would be the one who caused her world to explode with love.

Riley slowly backed away from the door knowing that Maya would never hurt her by getting involved with Lucas. Riley knew that Maya needed someone who treated her like the old Maya, the Maya who didn't suffer a terrible fate. She just hoped that her best friend and her love would not collide together and not be able to separate from each other. Riley wanted nothing more than for her best friend to return to who she used to be but she did not want Maya to take the one person who Riley considered hers.

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"I'm telling you Maya, every time I try to learn this stuff I just fall asleep. It isn't my fault that I don't see the point in learning about the lives of crazy men who died a long time ago." Lucas said laughing as Maya once again explained to him the life of one of her favourite artists.

"Huckleberry let's be honest here, the only thing you like to learn is how to make girls fall in love with you and the latest news in sports." Maya said thinking that it was going to a lot harder to help Lucas than she originally thought.

"Well in that case how do I get you to fall in love with me Ms. Hart?" Lucas glanced at her with his famous Lucas Friar smirk. He knew what he could do to girls with this look and he was excited to find out what happened with this look and Maya Hart.

"Hate to break it to you cowboy but I don't believe in love….I don't believe in much anymore." Maya said as she started to pack up her things. She didn't mean to sound so dark but it was true. She didn't believe in love or happily ever after. Too many people have hurt her for Maya to think she would be the girl who lived happily ever after.

"Well Maya I think you just need to find the person who makes you believe in it all again." Lucas told her thinking that maybe just maybe he could be the one who got Maya to believe she would have it all one day. This art session with her had been more fun than he was expecting, Maya had caused Lucas to laugh more than he had in years. He had yet to see anything more than a slight smirk cross her features but he had decided that one day he would hear what Maya Hart sounded like when she laughed. One thing was certain though, Maya was hiding something because every time Lucas got to close Maya would pull closer away or get up to go do something different until she returned later.

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	4. Chapter 4

Lucas and Maya had been spending two night a week together learning everything about art history. Riley and Maya finally sat down with one another and had a heart to heart. Maya assured Riley that nothing would ever happen between her and Lucas. After all Riley and Lucas must just end up together.

It was one night at the local café that Maya and Lucas were studying at that Lucas noticed something. Maya never showed her arms, it was getting hotter in this café with the heat turned on and the mass of bodies in the room but Maya was covered up in a long sleeved shirt. Now that he thought about it Maya never wore something that would expose her arms.

"Maya can I ask you something?" Lucas prompted her not knowing how exactly he would go about doing this. Yet part at the same time he wanted to know everything there was to know about Maya Hart.

"Whatever you want to know just ask Ranger Rick." That was another thing that Lucas enjoyed about Maya, she could dish out her attitude like nobody's business and it was usually at his expense. If anyone else were to do this Lucas would have a problem with them but he let Maya get away with it.

"How are you not really warm? I'm in a t shirt and I'm sweating like a cow in the Texas heat." Lucas asked hoping that he would be able to get Maya to open up without having to come out and tell her that he noticed she never showed anyone her arms.

"I guess I'm just cold blooded." Maya explained tugging at her sleeves in an effort to pull them even father down her arms. She knew that now that the weather was changing and getting hotter people would start to question why she always needed to wear something that covered her up.

"Now you and I both know that's not true." Lucas said giving her a smile that caused her stomach to flip flop. That had been happening more often now, during their studying session Lucas would do something that caused Maya to be sent into a tizzy. She knew that she was probably making something out of nothing, plus she did promise Riley that nothing would happen between her and Lucas.

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"Riley I want your opinion about something. Do you think I should start to wear shirts that allow people to see my scars?" Maya had been considering doing this for a couple of weeks now. Truth be told she hated covering herself up because it did get so warm. Yet she was nervous as to how people would react to the marks on her arm.

"I don't know peaches, I think that if you were to do it you have to be prepared for what people will say about you. They might think that you were the one that caused those scars to wind up on your arm. I also know that I for one don't care what you wear because you will always be peaches to me." Riley was one of only two people who knew that Maya was not the one who cut her arm. During the break in Maya was attacked and thrown through a window. The scars littered her arms from where the shards of glass were lodged into her skin.

"In that case I think that it is time that you and I went shopping for some new clothes." Maya smiled, she was ready to have the world see what had been done to her. Maybe by showing off her scars Maya could start to heal the still open wounds that she had on the inside.

"YAY" Riley yelled lacing her arm through one of Maya's. The two then sent out for the mall so that they could get Maya a new set of clothes.

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"Did you see that the girl with the blonde hair has a crazy set of scars all over her arm? I bet you that she did that to herself. Those artsy kids are always the ones who cut themselves for inspiration." Lucas was walking through the halls when he overheard Missy, a very popular girl, talking about the latest gossip in school. Usually Lucas tried not to listen to whatever Missy had to say but after she mentioned a blonde artsy person Lucas wanted to know if it was the blonde artsy person he had been hanging out with for quite some time.

"Hey Missy, who is that person ?" Lucas asked hoping that she would not say Maya because Lucas knew that Maya would never do something like that to herself. Maya was a firm believer in self love and had mentioned that she had a cousin who struggled with self harm. Maya knew that hutting herself was not something that she would ever do because she knew about the pain it caused people.

"Some girl named Maya Hart, whoever that is. All I can ssay is that she sounds like a freak show." Missy then laughed with her group of friends. All of this was taking place as Maya walked out of a nearby bathroom over hearing the whole thing. She looked down at the angry red line covering her arms, she wasn;t going to go back to hiding this. Maya was going to show the world who she was and that she is stronger than rumours and people who attack others.

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"So Ranger rick how has the studying been going? I think that we should be moving onto modern artist soon that way you won't fall too far behind." Maya asked as she walked into the art room for another one of her study sessions with Lucas. She was slightly nervous about Lucas seeing her scars but after surviving a day of glares and dirty looks Maya thought that she could handle almost anything.

"It has been going ok I guess." Lucas said trying not to look at her arms. Quickly he glanced at her. Starngely enough she was still the same old Maya to him, seeing her without her arms covered did not do much to change the role that Maya has created in his life.

"That's good I guess." Maya sat down beside him and started to pull books out of her bag and settled them down in front of them. She knew that Lucas would see the marks on her arm eventually she just questioned how her would react to it. Would he be like the people who just stared and whispered? Would he talk about her behind her back to someone else about the raised lines that covered most of her skin?

"Maya…I just want to ask you about….well your arms. You didn't do that to yourself did you?" Lucas asked catching one of her arms before it could dive back into her bag to fish out more books. Carefully he turned her arm over in his hands. Along her arm there were deep marks that were still red. Slowly Lucas ran his fingers over all the lines that he could see.

"No I didn't do that to myself." Maya said. Surprisingly she did not try to take her arm back from him. When he started to touch the lines on her arms Maya all but stopped breathing. No one but her had ever touched her scars. She never thought that Lucas Friar, popular bad boy could be letting his soft side show especially to her.

"I'm sorry." Lucas didn't know what else to say. He didn't understand who could do this to Maya. He knew that she had this tough girl act going on but there was a different side to Maya that everybody would love. Lucas suddenly was filled with anger, when he found out who did this to Maya they would pay. Lucas was still holding onto her arm rubbing over one scar that looked like the wound at one time was quite deep. It must have hurt a lot Lucas thought, he also thought that if he rubbed the scars enough he might just be able to run away some of Maya's pain.

"You're not the one that owes me an apology." Maya said taking her arm back from Lucas. Out of everyone who had seen her scars today not one person asked her about them. They all just assumed the worst of her. But not Lucas, somehow he knew that Maya wouldn't hurt herself, not on purpose at least.


	5. Chapter 5

It had been several weeks since Maya started to show off her scars, there had been quite a few people who laughed at her, spread rumors, and just stared but no one's reaction quite compared to the one that Lucas had. The two of them had gotten closer after that but Maya kept in mind her promise to Riley. In a few days there would be a formal dance happening at the school and Maya was quite nervous to go.

"So have you got yourself a hot date to take to this formal thing?" Lucas knew that it would cause a great deal of trouble for both Maya and Lucas for them to go together but there was a part of him that wanted to ask her. In fact there was a bigger part of her that just didn't want her going with someone who wasn't her.

"Ha like anyone would take a crazy girl with scars to a formal." Maya laughed at herself but she was a little disappointed that no one had asked her. Riley had agreed to go with Farkle, a longtime friend of theirs whom Maya suspected liked Riley more than a friend. She was just going to third wheel their date because riley said that it would be good for her to get out of the house.

"Hey don't do that to yourself, a guy would be crazy not to want to go with you to this thing." Lucas took Maya's pencil out of her hand and put his hand in place of it. Moments like these were happen more often between the two of them which was causing Lucas to freak out. No girl had even made Lucas feel like before.

"So what about you? I'm sure you have thousands of girls who are falling over themselves for the chance to go to a dance with THE Lucas Friar." Maya said taking her hand back. She hated that every time Lucas would touch her a fire would start within her, this was not part of the plan. She was supposed to be helping him with his art history nothing more.

"I promised Missy that I would go with her a while back so I guess I'll be stuck with her all night. But you might just have to save a dance for me." Lucas said motioning to tip a pretend cowboy hat. He hated that he would be forced to spend the whole time with Missy but maybe there was a way that he would be able to sneak away from her to go see Maya.

"Face it cowboy the only dance that you will be doing is a square dance and I wouldn't be caught dead doing that." Maya laughed as they returned back to art history.

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"Riley are you sure about this dress? It shows more skin then I usually show." Maya came out of the dressing room in a black dress that looked like it was made for Maya to wear. Yes it was sleeveless but riley knew that this was the dress for Maya.

"Look peaches before the accident you and I both knew that you used to show a lot more skin than this. So I say let loose and have fun for once. You and I haven't had fun like we used to in so long." Riley whined, she hated that Maya wasn't over what happened to her but she thought that maybe just maybe a dance would help her return back to the old Maya.

"Ugh if you say so, I guess that I will get the stupid dress." Maya said smiling despite herself. Riley was the only person these days that was able to get Maya to smile the way that she used to. Lucas was getting close to having Maya smile the way that she used to but he had get to accomplish this.

"Maya you and I will have so much fun I promise." Riley said squealing outside the dress room. Maya heard her and closed her eyes, she knew that this dance was important to Riley but there was a nagging voice in her head that told her that this all might be a huge mistake.

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The day of the dance had finally arrived and all over the school students were bouncing off the walls in the hopes that the dance would be everything that they wanted. Maya and Riley got ready at Riley's apartment where they would be sleeping after the dance was done. When they were done Farkle arrived and was greeted by Riley's dad giving me a "talk". Once that was taken care of the three friends made their way to the dance ready to have a fun time.

Meanwhile at the dance Lucas had already arrived with Missy and wasn't having the best time. She was all over him, normally that was ok but Lucas just couldn't put Maya out of his mind. He hadn't seen her yet but he was looking forward to see Maya and how she looked. As he was getting punch for him and Missy he spotted her. Maya took his breath away in her black dress and blonde curls flowing down her back.

"Lucas come dance with me." Missy whined in his ear but Lucas wasn't able to pay attention to anyone but Maya. She looked somewhat out of place in this crowd but was handling it well. Lucas had a feeling that Maya was nervous to be at a school dance especially with how people were treating her lately. Lucas had gotten into more than one fight over what people were saying about Maya behind her back.

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The dance was going well so far, that was until Maya heard a song come on that she hadn't heard in months. This was the song that she was blasting when the men first came into her room and started attacking her. Maya was frozen, slowly she started to get dizzy, she couldn't focus on anything that was going on around her. The only thing that she could think about was that she needed to get out of here as fast as she could. Quickly she sprinted out of the dance not caring that people started to stare at her on her way out.

"Maya!" Lucas saw Maya making her way towards the exit, he could tell that she was upset because Maya would always tell her friend Riley where she was going. Lucas looked around and Riley looked worried as well. Before thinking twice Lucas followed Maya out, for the first time in a long time he didn't care what people would say about him when he left.

"Maya, slow down and tell me what is going on? Did someone say something to you?" Lucas quickly caught up with Maya and tried to reach out to grab her. As soon as Maya saw that someone was trying to touch her she started to panic even more. Lucas then just held onto her knowing that she was having a panic attack, he used to get them as a child and having someone hold onto him often helped. At first Maya struggled against his hold and screamed something that he didn't quite understand.

"Maya listen to me, it's Lucas. Nothing is happening, you are safe, I got you and you are safe." Lucas just kept repeating that over and over again until Maya started to calm down enough that she could speak.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry that you had to deal with this Lucas. I'm really fine, I'll just text Riley and she can come get me." Maya said going to reach for her bag but realized that she must have forgotten it when she ran out in a panic.

"Maya you don't have to apologize, I know that you don't mean for panic attacks to happen. Anyway I'm not leaving you alone. Now do you where do you want me to walk you to because there is no way in hell that I am leaving you alone." Lucas said looking down at the mess of a girl in his arms. Even now with makeup running across her cheeks she was still stunning to him. There was a part of him that just wanted to take her in his arms and kiss her but he knew that if he did that Maya would get the wrong idea about why he ran after her.

"Just take me somewhere safe Lucas, all I want is to feel safe." With that Lucas scooped Maya up and started to walk her to his house. He knew that Maya must have been really broken because she didn't try to fight him about carrying her at all. All she did was put her head on his chest and close her eyes.


	6. Chapter 6

"Maya we're here." Lucas said when he arrived at his place. His parents were away for the weekend so he knew that he and Maya would be able to talk alone. Maya looked at him and Lucas could feel his heart break for her. Maya did not say anything on the way home and the silence was killing Lucas.

The two of them made their way inside with Lucas leading Maya by the hand. He had no idea what to do, he had never seen someone act like this and it was starting to scare him.

"Would you like something to eat or drink?" Lucas asked Maya but all she had was shake her eat. He tried to release his hold on Maya but every time that he tried to let her go Maya would grab at his hand again and hold on even tighter.

"Can I use your phone? I have to tell Riley where I am before she starts to worry." This was the first thing that Maya had said since she ran out of the dance. Lucas smiled because it was so like Maya to think about her friend before herself.

"Yeah sure, I'll just be in the kitchen." Lucas said starting to walk away, however Maya made something of a whimpering noise that stopped him dead in his tracks. He returned to her side and waited for Maya to make the phone call.

"Hey honey, yeah I'm okay I just went home. I'm sorry. Yeah I know, I left my phone at the dance so I borrowed Lucas' when he walked me home. Ok I will. Goodnight." Maya hated that she was lying to Riley but she did promise her that nothing would happen between her and Lucas, but Maya staying at his house did feel like she was doing something.

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"So I'm guessing that you would want to get out of that dress so I sent out some clothes for you. Ummm do you want me to- I mean I could-" Lucas was stumbling over asking Maya if she wanted him to come with her while she changed. Usually he wasn't this awkward around girls but then again none of those girls had been Maya.

"Lucas you can come with me, just turn around ok?" Maya gave him a sad smile, she had no idea how Lucas had come to mean so much to her but whenever he was around her she felt that she was safe, that nothing bad would happen to her.

"That I can do." Lucas showed Maya where his room was where the clothes were. As soon as they got in there Lucas turned his back to Maya and waited for her to finish getting ready.

"You can turn around now." With that Lucas faced Maya, she looked great standing there in his old clothes.

"Wanna tell me about what happened back at the dance?" Lucas asked hoping that Maya would be able to open up to him and he could find a way to help. He knew that whatever happened probably had something to do with the scars that Maya sported but he still had no idea how they got there.

"It's a long story." Maya told him, she did want to open up to Lucas but it was difficult for her to explain what happen. After the attack Maya's memory had blocked out certain things that happened that day, the doctor's explained that it was Maya's brain trying to protect her. That by repressing certain memories Maya would be able to go on with her life, but unfortunately it also meant that most of the attack was a blur for her.

"Well it's only us here and we have nothing but time." Lucas said sitting down on the bed and patting the stop next to him. All he wanted was for Maya to be okay and maybe just maybe talking about what happened would be the way to help her start healing.

"Okay it started a couple of months ago, but before I tell you the whole story you have to realize that I don't remember everything that happened. I was home by myself and I have been told that I was working on a painting. Anyway I was listening to music and the song from the dance came on and I turned it up because I really liked it. Right in the middle of the song I heard a noise, next thing I know a man is in my room…..the doctors say he hit me and then pushed he through a window which is how I got the scars. I don't remember the actual attack but after the song just kept playing over and over again as I was on the ground just waiting for someone to find me." Maya said, this was the first time that she told someone about the attack. Riley was the one that found her a couple of hours after the attack first happened and her mother was told what happened by the doctors.

"Did they ever catch the guy?" Lucas was shocked, he didn't understand why anyone would ever want to hurt Maya. He also didn't understand why no one had done anything to protect her and make this guy pay for what he was done.

"No, whoever did it is still out there." Maya said, that was the worst part of this whole ordeal. The fact that whoever did this to her could just as easily come back and do this to her over and over again if he really wanted to.

"Maya I swear to you that I will keep you safe, no one will hurt you again." Lucas was quick to try to get Maya in his arms. Yet unlike before where she craved his touch, she pushed him away.

"Lucas you can't keep me safe from myself. You don't know what it is like to have to live like I do." Maya said, this was the problem with people knowing what really happened to her. No one seemed to understand what it was like to live after a bad thing happened, what it was like to have to change your whole life because one event happened.

"Then tell me Maya because the last thing that I want is for you to go through this alone." Lucas said, he just wanted to take Maya away from all of this. However, now that he knew what happened to Maya many things started to make sense. Her constant need to sketch a face that was never quite complete, her ability to hide within herself…

"I don't sleep, I mean I can get a couple of hours each night but whenever I close my eyes I remember laying there on my floor covered in my own blood. Then I also have the issue of having to check the locks whenever I am at home over and over again. It never stops Lucas, my mind never stops." Maya looked at him and hoped that he understood what she was trying to say. All she needed was to feel safe in her own skin again, she wanted nothing more than to stop having to look over her shoulder all the time.

"How about you stay with me for the night and I will make sure that all the doors are locked? And if you do get a nightmare I'll be here to help." Lucas said pulling down the blankets on his bed and climbed in. He hoped that Maya wouldn't think that he was trying to seduce her, because as much as he liked Maya he just wanted her to know what it was like to be safe, even if it was just for one night.

"Lucas you know that we can't do anything right? That this night can't mean anything?" Maya said to him before she crawled into the bed with him. It was nice to have him want to protect her, it was new for Maya to have someone care about her this much.

"It's not like that Maya." Lucas said knowing that he did have feelings for Maya but after what she just told him he knew that Maya needed to work on herself before Lucas gave her more things to deal with.

"Alright then, goodnight Lucas." Maya told him closing her eyes and preparing for the nightmares that were bound to hit her soon enough.


	7. Chapter 7

Lucas had been staring at Maya on and off throughout the night. They had been in bed together for only a few hours but Maya hadn't woken up yet. Lucas had an idea that Maya wasn't getting enough sleep lately and he was prepared to deal with the nightmares when they started.

Out of nowhere his phone rang, he glanced at the clock and saw that it was 2 in the morning. It had to be important if someone was calling him this early.

"Hello?" Lucas whispered into the phone, carefully he climbed out of the bed leaving Maya on her own. He walked out of the room hoping that she would stay asleep while he was gone. He could see Maya readjust in his bed. Before his phone had went off the two of them were wrapped around each other trying to just get through the night.

"Lucas? This is Riley, Maya's best friend. I just need to know that she is safe. I know she called me but I like to know where Maya is and how she is doing, you know?" Riley spoke quickly into the phone trying not to panic when she heard Lucas' voice. She was doing this to help Maya but it wasn't so bad that she got to talk to Lucas in the process. Maybe if luck was on her side this phone conversation would lead to Lucas and her finally getting their chance at happily ever after.

"Maya is fine; she's sleeping right now." Lucas said glancing back into the bedroom seeing that Maya had started to move around more now that he was out of the bed. When he was in bed with her Maya would move occasionally but seeing her now he could tell that something was off. Lucas tried to get Riley off the phone as fast as he could so he would be back with Maya.

"How long has she been asleep for?" Riley was familiar with the sleeping patterns Maya had taken on since the attack. It was very rare for Maya to get more than an hour of sleep without having a nightmare. Riley hated that her best friend had to deal with this but she also had no idea how to help her.

"For about two, two and a half hours now." Lucas said trying to think about when Maya actually fell asleep. To him getting that much sleep seemed awful but he knew that Maya usually got less or never got two hours in a row. He just shook his head when he thought about how much Maya's life had changed because of a man hurting her.

"Straight through? That's great…. well tell her when she wakes up to call me. Goodnight Lucas." With that Lucas dropped the phone because Maya's screaming sounded through the house. Quickly Lucas launched himself back into the bedroom. There on the bed Maya was tangled in the sheets screaming at nothing. It took Lucas a moment to figure out what to do, he knew that touching Maya when she was like this wouldn't be a good idea so he decided that he would try to talk to her. It was next to impossible to not just gather her in his arms and try to fight off the demons that were holding her hostage.

"Maya listen to me, it's Lucas you're safe nothing is happening. I need you to wake up and look at me ok? Maya just open your eyes." It was awful to see Maya struggle through whatever was haunting her at night, it was clear that whatever she was seeing in her dreams was scary enough for Maya to lash out and try to hurt Lucas. Her arms went all over the place in the hopes of hitting the "attacker" she thought was there. Lucas was given no choice but to take hold of her arms in order to stop her from hitting her. Normally he would have smirked at the thought of Maya hitting him and expecting it to hurt. Now though he knew that her hits were the only thing she had to protect herself.

"Maya please just open your eyes." Lucas hated this, it seemed like this nightmare lasted for hours. Finally, Maya opened her eyes and stared into Lucas' own. He could see that the only emotion that Maya was feeling right now was life threatening fear. It was written all over her face, however once Maya figured out where she was and who she was with she broke down into sobs.

"Maya you are going to have to calm down okay? I am going to keep you safe I promise but please just breath." Lucas told Maya as he rubbed her back. This was by far the scariest thing that he had ever witnessed. He had a general idea of what Maya's nightmares were like but seeing one first hand was far worse.

"Lucas please just make my life safe again, please." Maya begged. She usually wasn't like this, in fact she was known as a tough girl. Life he life lately though was leaving her feeling anything but tough.

"Alright Maya I will, why don't we just get back into bed and try to get back to sleep." Lucas wanted Maya to try to get as much sleep as possible while she was here with him. He hated to think about the countless nights that Maya has had to deal with her nightmares all on her own.

"You won't leave right?" Maya hated the part of her that was so desperate for Lucas to be here with her. She wanted to be independent and to be able to take care of herself but ever since that fateful night she felt as though she was living the life of someone she didn't know anymore.

"I'm staying right here with you. Just close your eyes and I will try to fight off all those dark thoughts in that head of yours." Normally Maya would make fun of him for being so cheesy but right now she was not one to argue. Maya closed her eyes just as Lucas instructed and wrapped herself around him. Lucas took his arms and wrapped them around Maya just as he had before her nightmare hit. Despite the nature of the situation Lucas smiled, he loved the way that Maya fit in his arms. Most of the time he never cuddled with a girl and most of all he never got attached, yet with this blonde girl he was starting to find himself pushing his limits.

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"Good morning sunshine." Lucas said when he heard Maya walk into his kitchen behind him. After he got Maya settled back in bed she eventually fell back to sleep. Sometime after six Lucas slipped out of bed and decided to cook Maya and himself something to eat.

Staring at her now Lucas realized that Maya was breathtaking. It didn't matter if she was wearing that stunning dress from the dance or his old football shirt, he found her stunning.

"Hey I do recall a time when you agreed not to call me nicknames. Plus, yours always lack creativity." Maya said, she was nervous that this night would change things between the two of them. She was trying to keep this morning as normal as possible yet she could feel the tension that had been building between them for quite some time now.

"I thought you'd be willing to let this one pass since I let you in my bed and now I am making you breakfast." Lucas wanted to take back those words as soon as they were out of his mouth. The lasat thing he wanted was for Maya to think that he was using her for his pleasure. She meant something to him, in fact lately she was starting to mean everything.

"Lucas I really do want to thank you, for everything that you did last night. I know that this is nto what you signed up for when you wanted me to tutor you. I will also understand if you want to find someone else to help you now." Maya wanted to keep helping Lucas because she thought that maybe just maybe he was helping her too.

"Maya listen to me when I tell you that you are everything that I wanted. I just didn't know it when I first talked to you." Lucas stepped close to Maya and took her face in his hands. He gazed into her eye and saw everything that he never knew that he wanted. Maya had eyes that revealed all the emotions she tried to hide from the rest of the world. Looking at them now Lucas could see her fear and desperation to feel safe but underneath all of that he saw the fire that he knew was inside of her. He knew that Maya could overcome what happened to her, and he wanted to be there to witness it.

"Lucas…"


	8. Chapter 8

"Lucas…. we can't do this. You and I both agreed that this night wouldn't change anything between us." Maya said trying to turn away from the cowboy who had started to break down all the walls that she had built up around herself.

"Maya for once in your life just be selfish. Be selfish with me. You and I both know that there is something between us and there is no use fighting it." Lucas said all these things to her and tried to convince her that this is what he wanted. In fact, he had never wanted a girl like the way that he wants Maya.

"You don't get it Lucas, if you and I do this I would be hurting Riley. I just can't hurt her Lucas, she's my best friend and she has been there for me long before you." Maya explained. Hurting Riley was the one constant that she had in her life and Maya wouldn't risk that relationship for anything. Riley didn't deserve the pain that a relationship between Maya and Lucas would cause.

"Dammit Maya can't you see that I want you, I don't want Riley I barley know her. Take a chance on me Maya." Lucas pleaded with her. He knew that there was a slim chance that Maya would say yes to him, a bond like the one between her and Riley was rare and a boy was hardly a reason to end it.

"Lucas I am a mess; can't you see that? I am barely keeping it together and you want to add on the pressure of a relationship on top of that." Maya said knowing that a relationship with Lucas might be too much for her. However, she did want him though, how could she not, he was a good guy.

"Then be a mess with me Maya, I can handle it I swear. I want to give us a try Maya okay? You are the one that I want…just try this, for me." With that Lucas pressed his lips to hers knowing that it might backfire on him. The moment that their lips touched it felt like electricity was coursing through his veins. This kiss was unlike any other he had experienced before, it felt like the right kiss.

"You shouldn't have done that." Maya whispered, yet at the same time she was grinning at him. Maybe Lucas was right. Maybe it was okay for her to be a little bit selfish after the last few months. Maybe Riley would just be happy for her and know that for the first time in a long time Maya was starting to feel like herself again.

"Well I did so what are you going to do about it?" Lucas questioned going back to the usual banter that the two of them had instead of the more serious side of their relationship they were previously engaging in.

"This." With that Maya pressed her lips to Lucas'. She felt in this moment that everything was right, like this was exactly where she was supposed to be and this was the person that she was supposed to be with.

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*Maya meets with Riley*

"Riles I have to tell you something. Lucas and I…. well something happened between the two of us." Maya blurted those words out before she lost her nerve and never told Riley about the huckleberry she was now maybe dating.

"Relax Maya I know all about it." Riley said shrugging it off. Maya was taken back, she didn't think that anyone knew about her and Lucas. She sure as hell didn't tell anyone and she doubted that he would tell anyone.

"What do you know exactly?" Maya questioned wanting to know that if rumors about her and Lucas were going around already or if the two of them had kept what was between them under wraps so far.

"I know that he took you to his house after the dance and that you spent the night. Maya you shouldn't worry, I'm not mad. I know that the two of you are just friends." Riley said laughing just thinking about the idea of Maya and Lucas being together. They were so different and she knew that deep down her and Lucas were quite alike.

"That is true Riley. He did take me to his house and I did spend the night. But Lucas and I, we're not just friends." Maya explained to her friend. She thought that it was better to be honest with Riley about what she was feeling towards Lucas then to bury them inside and have her find out from someone else.

"How could you do that to me? You know how much I like him. Maya…. he was supposed to be the one for me." Riley felt tears spring to her eyes. she knew that she was being a tad overdramatic but Lucas was the one and only boy that she liked. The two of them were supposed to be the next Cory and Topanga.

"How could I do this to you?! You know sometimes you can be so selfish Riley. I did this for me okay. I did this so that I could be happy for the first time in months. I thought that since you are supposed to be my best friend you would want that for me. After everything I have been through I thought that you would be okay with me feeling like myself again. Why can't you just be happy for me?" Maya didn't mean to explode on Riley, but ever since the attack Maya had felt like she had constantly been holding this in and in this moment some of it finally came out of her.

"I am happy for you Maya, and I am glad that you are feeling like yourself after all this time. I just don't understand why it you have to be with Lucas….my Lucas." Riley could feel her insides splitting, never in a million years did she think that Maya would be the one person to break apart her dreams of Lucas.

"Your Lucas? Face it Riley you barely know the guy and he doesn't know you. Your so called relationship with him is just a fairytale that you created. Your feelings for Lucas are one sided. I'm sorry Riley but Lucas and I are together now and if you knew what was going on with me in the last few months you would be happy for me." Maya said, she could feel the regret already setting in as she spoke. She didn't mean half of the things that she was telling Riley but she wanted to be with Lucas and for once she wasn't going to let Riley talk her out of this.

"I don't know what has been going on with you the past few months because you don't tell me Maya. I tried to be there for you after everything but it is like you have shut me out of your life. I don't know where my best friend went but I really want her back. I have tried to be there for you and do whatever I can think of to make you feel better but I can't do it anymore Maya. I am tired of you not being the old Maya. I want my old best friend back, not this girl who takes Lucas away from me and doesn't tell me what is really going with her." Riley said, she could not believe that this fight had started about Lucas but had now evolved to being about their relationship since the night that Maya had been attacked.

"You never asked Riley, not once did you ever ask me what happened that night or how it changed my life! I was attacked I am not just about to open up to you all the time about it because you wouldn't understand, no one seems to understand what it is like. You live this happy perfect life Riley! Nothing bad ever happens to you! Face it your whole life is lived in Rileytown where nothing bad ever happens and all the people there lead perfect lives and there are smiles and unicorns and rainbows! Plus for the record I didn't go anywhere Riley. You just want me to go back to being the girl I was before that night, but I can't because she is gone." Maya suddenly got up and left her best friend there. It was true Maya was no longer the girl who lived inside her before that night. Whoever attacked Maya took pieces of her, he took her sense of safety, her confidence, her ability to trust, and most of all he took her inspiration for her art. Maya hated to think about it but she feared that those parts of herself were gone forever. She hated the man that took everything that Maya believed belonged to her. She also hated the fact that she just ran out on her best friend. Maybe she was right when she told Lucas that she was a mess.


	9. Chapter 9

*One week later*

It was late and raining and no one in the right mindset would ever venture outside much less to the other side of town. However, there was Lucas walking towards Maya's building soaked to the bone. For the past week Maya had called him at some point during the night after waking up from a nightmare. Of course she never asked him to come over and be with her but she was Maya and he would do anything for her.

"Maya open up the damn door I am freezing out here!" Lucas called through the door knowing that Maya's mother was never home during the late night hours. It usually took a bit of time for Maya to open up the door but tonight Lucas prayed that she would just let him in.

"Lucas what the hell are you doing here? I haven't called you and besides even if I did the weather is awful. Get in here before you freeze to death." Maya yelled at him. Yes, she thought that it was very sweet that he came over whenever she was upset but tonight was different. She hadn't even tried to sleep yet and he was here.

"I knew that you would call eventually, besides I am getting used to sleeping in your bed instead of my own." Lucas smirked at her. Truth be told he was worried about her. Ever since the big fight between her and Riley, Maya seemed to be more on edge. Lucas also knew that her memories of the night that were starting to come back.

"Well maybe you should just stay home from now on. Huckleberry you can't keep doing this to yourself. You cannot run off of such little sleep." Maya said, she knew all too well about how difficult it was for her to run off less than three hours of sleep a night, and she had been doing it for months.

"I'm fine Maya, besides I told you I was going to be here for you so that is what I am doing. Don't fight your boyfriend on this short stack." Lucas held his breath, they hadn't decided what they were calling whatever was between the two of them but he hoped that she would want to be in a serious relationship.

"My boyfriend huh? I don't remember meeting him, he must be a great guy though if you know him." Maya stuck out her tongue at him and pranced over into her bedroom. It wasn't like she didn't want to date Lucas because she did. She just didn't know if he wanted to be tied. He was Lucas Friar, a player, a bad boy, known to be in a different girls bed every night of the week.

"Funny Maya, real funny." Lucas was disappointed though, he wanted to be with Maya. for once in his life he could picture himself with just her. She was more than enough for him.

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"So what has been going on in that pretty head of yours lately?" Lucas asked kissing the top of Maya's head well they laid in her bed. She was sketching away in her notebook while he was staring at her trying to memorize every detail about her.

"I went to see my shrink a couple of days ago. She says that it is good that I am starting to remember things. Apparently it means that my brain is ready to face what happened. She told me to just go on with what I normally do and try not to push remembering too hard." Maya explained to him. She had been seeing her therapist once every two weeks or so since the hospital thought it would be a good idea. Maya didn't know how she felt about it though, often getting lost in her art was more helpful then talking about all her thoughts and feelings/

"That's good I gues….so have you talked to Riley since the fight?" Lucas tried not to bring up Riley but he knew that Maya needed her. Riley was the sunshine that reminded Maya that there was innocence still inside of people. Maya needed her best friend back and Lucas hated the fact that he might have been the cause for them to fall apart.

"Nope, and honestly I think I just need a break from her. I need to feel all the things I want to feel about the attack without her there trying to make me a better person. For once I want to feel all the dark things inside of me before I am ready to let the light back in." Maya said looking up at him. Sometimes in moments like these she questioned how the hell she got so lucky. She had a guy who was there for her no matter what and he wasn't pressuring her into anything. It almost made it seem like things were fitting into place.

"I get, but I want you to know that you have me. No matter what happens you will always have me." With that Lucas took the pencil out of Maya's hand and her notebook. He set them on the table beside her bed and got them settled in her bed. He had been telling Maya the truth when he said that he was getting used to being in her bed. He was growing accustomed to having her in his arms all night. Without the sound of her breathing next to him Lucas found himself having trouble getting to sleep.

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*The next morning*

"Maya Riley is here for you!" Katy called to May through her bedroom door. When she heard her mother yell Maya woke up. She was confused at first but then she started to take in her surroundings. One thing stood out to her most…. Lucas was still in her bed.

"Alright mom just give me a second." Maya was freaking out; her mom usually didn't wake up until much late due to the fact that she worked late. This gave Lucas plenty of time to get out of the house and Maya to act like he was never here.

"Lucas you need to wake up." Maya stroked his hair hoping that he was a light sleeper and would come to right away. She hated to wake him but this was not the place for him to catch up on some much needed rest.

"Come back to bed Maya, you were sleeping for hours before this." Lucas mumbled. It was true though, Maya had been able to sleep for four hours straight before her mother woke her.

"Riley and my mom are here, so unless you want to be a dead man I suggest you hide." Maya said, with that Lucas sprang into action. He gathered up his belongings and hid in the bathroom that was connected to Maya's bedroom.

"Come on in Riles." Maya yelled thinking that it would be better to get Riley to come in here than risk her mother coming into her room.

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"Maya I think that you and I need to stop fighting so things can go back to normal." Riley proclaimed entering Maya's room. She missed her best friend and honestly just wanted this silly fight to end.

"I'm sorry Riley but I am just not at that place yet. I miss you and you will always be my best friend but I need to sort through my issues by myself right now." Maya said sliding her gaze towards the door that was separating her and Riley from Lucas hiding in the bathroom.

"Oh does that mean that you are not letting Lucas help you with all of this then?" Riley asked trying to ignore the small bit of hope inside her that suggested that maybe just maybe she would get her chance to be with Lucas.

"He has nothing to do with this." Maya informed her hoping that Riley would leave soon enough and Lucas would have the chance to sneak out as well. It was then that Riley looked at Maya and took in what she had on. Instead of her usual paint stained shirt that Maya wore to bed she had on what appeared to be a shirt that promoted baseball at their school.

"That's his shirt isn't it?" Riley asked in a quiet voice. She knew that Maya deserved to be with someone who helped her and made her feel safe. She just didn't understand why that person just had to be with Lucas.

"It is, please Riley just let me be happy and let me sort this out on my own." With that Maya ushered Riley out of her room. All Maya wanted was to be able to figure out who she was now after the attack away from her best friend. She needed to find out who she was before she involved Riley in this. It was the right thing to do, even if it was the hardest thing that Maya had to do.


	10. Chapter 10

"Maya you don't have to push me away. I have been there for you through all of this, please just let me stay so we can talk about this." Riley said fighting against Maya who was pushing her out the door.

"Fine, if that will make you leave faster we can talk." Maya was just so tired, tired of fighting against her memories, against Riley. It felt like she was fighting against the world.

"Can I talk to Lucas first? I have a few things that I need to talk to him about. I think that if I get some closure between us it will be easier on me to accept the two of you." Riley said, with that Maya opened up the bathroom door were Lucas was hiding behind. Silently Riley walked in and shut the door behind her. She needed to face this, to face the fact that her feelings were one sided. It would hurt to know that Lucas didn't want her the way that she wanted him but she would do it in the hopes of getting Maya back.

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"What are you doing here Riley? I know that you are Maya's best friend but if you are here to hurt her or to try and stop our relationship I am going to have to ask you to leave." Lucas said standing up from where he was sitting on the counter. He didn't care that Riley was Maya's best friend, if anyone tried to hurt Maya they would have to go through her.

"I am here to try and accept what is between you and Maya. I want to be there for her if she will let me, but I think that I have to sort through my feelings for you." Riley said finally making eye contact with Lucas, it was then that she realized he wasn't wearing a shirt. She noticed right away the muscles across his body.

"I am sorry if I hurt you Riley, but I have to tell you that I have never had feelings for you. After the ninth grade you and I barely spoke." Lucas said feeling slightly uncomfortable with what was going on between him and Riley. He didn't want to be mean or to hurt Riley, but he wanted to make it clear that he had no romantic feelings for her.

"I'm sorry, I know that my feelings are one sided but I couldn't help but feel like there was something between us. I guess since my parents had their own epic love story I just wanted my own." Riley said, there was a lot of pressure she placed on herself to find her own love story that would match the one of her parents.

"You will find someone Riley, but for right now at least, the love story is between Maya and I." Lucas had never admitted to anyone before that they liked them let alone loved them. However, he knew that he had feeling for Maya. Lucas understood that it was best if he kept them quiet in order to keep Maya and not scare her off.

"You really like her don't you? I want you to know that Maya needs someone there for her though. She won't admit it but those scars run a lot deeper than she lets on." Riley could see that Lucas ha his feelings written all over his face. Even if she still had work to do to repair the friendship between her and Maya, Riley wanted to know that Lucas wasn't going to hurt her.

"She is everything I never knew I wanted. She can drive me up the wall but I would also do anything for her. I know that she is hurting but I would do anything that she needs me to do in order to help her" Lucas said knowing that Maya was a very independent person he hoped that one day he would be able to be the person that she would lean on.

"Did she tell you about the nightmares?" Riley knew that Maya would probably be mad at her for talking to someone about this, but Riley knew that Lucas needed to know. He needed to understand what was going on with Maya in order to help her.

"I've been with her for all the ones that had happened since we've been together. They are terrifying to watch, it is like she is fighting with everything that she has but I don't know what she is fighting against." Lucas said, he knew that Maya had been hurt by someone, her scars was proof of that. Yet he had no idea how those scars got all over her skin.

"I can't be the one to tell you what happened, that is one thing that Maya has to do herself. Just know that you need to be there for her, whatever she is fighting against is probably bigger than either of you expect." Riley said, she hoped that Lucas would be the one who would help Maya face her past. She also knew that Lucas need to be prepared for what was haunting Maya at night.

"You know what happened to her don't you? You know things that she doesn't even know?" Lucas asked, the little Maya had told him about what happened never made complete sense. All her memories were split, she could recall a piece here and there but nothing that informed her about what really happened.

"The doctors told me a few things right after it happened, the police and I are still in contact with what is happening to try and catch the guy." Riley said, she was glad that Maya had found Lucas. She also knew that with time she would be able to heal the wounds on her heart that her one sided love had caused. Just as she walked in, Riley exited the bathroom silently. She hugged Maya then left the apartment.

"He's still out there?" Lucas asked himself, he knew that someone was responsible for what happened to Maya. However, he always thought that they were locked up and Maya was safe from the man coming back.

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"How did it go with Riley?" Maya asked when Lucas came out of the bathroom shortly after Riley.

"I think that finally understood that I didn't mean to hurt her when I fell for you. There was just no chance that her and I would be together after I met you." Lucas said, he had the desire to ask Maya about the man who had hurt her but he also knew that Riley told him those things about Maya in confidence.

"You sound like such a huckleberry when you say those things." Maya said smiling, she was glad though. She had a fear that Lucas would figure out how great and happy Riley was and fall for her instead. Maya just didn't think that she could handle Lucas leaving her the way that her father left her.

"I only say them because they are true. You should know that Maya, you make me feel more alive than anyone else I have ever met. Because of you I have discovered so much more of the world. You have changed me so much in the short time we have been together." Lucas so badly wanted to confess how deep his feeling ran for Maya but at the same time had the fear that she wouldn't say those things back.

"Lucas you say the cheesiest things, who would have guess that the school's bad boy would have a soft spot for little old me." Maya laughed then pulled Lucas in close to her. She could feel his heartbeat under his skin. It was that noise alone that could calm her during the worst of her nightmares.


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: I am so sorry that it has been so long. I just finished first year university so I felt as though I needed to put all my effort into that. Anyway I will try to be better about updating this as well as starting some other stories. I hope you like this and always R &R**

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"Riley can I talk to you for a second"?" Lucas asked cornering Riley as she was just leaving the history room. She was taken aback to see that Lucas was wanting to speak with her. After they cleared the air between the two of them it just seemed weird. Her and Maya were trying to get better though but Riley knew that Maya would just need time.

"Sure, what can I do for you?" Riley walked back into the room and sat back down on the desk. She wondered what Lucas would want to talk about. She worried that Maya was getting worse and she didn't want to tell Riley. A thousand scenarios of what could be happened to her best friend without her knowledge started to panic Riley. Ever since the attack she worried about what would happened to Maya in the safest of situations.

"I can't seem to get out of my head that you know what happened to Maya. Her nightmares are terrifying and she still can't seem to remember what happened to her. She needs to be able to feel safe Riley – she needs to know that she doesn't need to be on edge all of the time." Lucas was trying to help Maya as much as he could. He just wanted some way to make it all better for her; he hated that she had nightmares every night and they seemed to just be getting worse. More than once she had woken him up screaming from the demons in her memory. When he asked Maya what they were about she could never make sense of the images that she was seeing.

"Lucas…I can't be the one to tell Maya what happened to her. Her therapist and I both think that it is best if Maya remembers things on her own. Between you and I though, I think it might be best if Maya never finds out what happened to her." Riley sighed, knowing what happened in her best friend's room late that night was not an easy secret for Riley to keep but she knew that it was the best choice for Maya. Remembering what happened to her was something Maya needed to accomplish on her own to be able to heal.

"Riley please just answer some of my questions. I want to help Maya but I just don't know how. She is so damn stubborn that she won't tell me what she needs. I need your help – you know Maya better than anyone else." Luas begged her. He needed to know what happened to his girlfriend, he wanted to know what he could do to help. He had never felt so helpless whenever Maya begged in her sleep to feel safe again. She would hold onto him so tightly when she said those things – it was like she was afraid that if she didn't hold onto Lucas tight enough he would slip away.

"Ok but I will only answer 3 questions and I get a choice to if I want to answer them or not." Riley sighed. She could see how much Lucas cared for her peaches but she still felt a pain in her chest realizing that Lucas would never feel that way about her. She was trying to be happy for them but it was still hard.

"OK, first question. How dangerous is this person?" Lucas was prepared to protect Maya no matter the personal costs but he wanted some sort of clue as to what he was up against. He had a temper since he was a child but he had always defended the people he loved against those that has wronged them and Maya was no exception. He had a plan to fin who did this to her and dish out all that they had done to hiss blonde beauty and more. He was prepared to do anything for Maya to feel safe.

"The police say that they have a history of violence. Which is true because when I saw Maya after it happened…. she didn't look like Maya at all. She was passed out and I thought she was dead. I had never seen so much blood before and her room was trashed. Everything was broken." Riley felt a chill go down her body thinking about how Maya looked laying on the floor of her room when Riley walked in to pick Maya up for school. There was blood everywhere and Maya passed out with glass all around her.

"God when I find out who did this they are going to wish that they never did this to Maya. Ok next question. What is with the sketchbook Maya always has with her?" Lucas knew that Maya loved art and in his opinion she was one of the best out there but lately her drawings were like she was trying to search for answers through her pencil.

"Before the accident Maya would constantly paint and draw on anything she could get her hands on. That night Maya was working on this big project when the attacker came in. Fast forward to now and Maya is using her art for answers. Her therapist says that Maya's mind may have all the answers locked away and I guess Maya is trying to literally draw them out." Riley smiled thinking about how wonderful Maya was when it came to expressing herself about what she was feeling. Her paintings told a story and Riley hoped that whatever Maya was trying to look for would be the key for her.

"Last one…..do you know who did this to her?" Lucas held his breath waiting for the answer. He decided the moment Maya first showed her scars that he would find this person and make them pay. He couldn't describe what her was feeling for Maya but it was like she changed him. Before her he was this person who was miserable and took it out on everyone around him. Maya was his version of sunshine and strength. She was just everything he was scared to be.

"Yes." And with that Riley pushed herself out of the room. Lucas just sat there in silence, stunned that Riley knew who did this and she never once told Maya.


End file.
